Pressure releasing means for steam irons



Sept- 12, 1944- v F. E. woLcoTT ET AL 2,357,852

PRESSURE RELEASING MEANS FOR STEAM IRONS Filed April s, 1941 NVENTORS.PRH/VK E. WOL/C0777.' @ws yf. L acl/7.

A TT ORNE Y Patented Sept. l2, 1944 PRESSURE RELEASING MEANS FOR STEAMIRoNs Frank E. Wolcott and Louis v. Lucia, west nartford, Conn.,assignors to The Silex Company, Hartford, Conn., a. corporation of('Jonnecticut4 Application April s, 1941, serial No. 386,694

' s claims. (el. :ia-77) This invention relates to combination steamingand pressing irons and more particularly to the type of steam irons inwhich steam is generated directly within a container in the bo'dy ofsaid iron and as shown and described in the co-pending application,Serial No. 337,279, filed May 25, 1940, now Patent No. 2,309,427, issuedJan. 26, 1943.

It has been found, by long experience, that it is possible for the steampassages in such irons to become clogged or suiciently obstructed,particularly by sediment such as is left therein by water containingalkali which is depositedyithin the said passages as the Water isevaporated, so as to cause the said irons to explode with thepossibility of injuring persons in the vicinity of the iron. 1'

Various types of safety valves have heretofore been provided in suchsteaming irons, but they have not been found satisfactory for the reasonthat they cannot be relied upon since the passages in said valves couldeasily also become clogged with sediment.

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to

' provide safety means for steam irons which can device which isinaccessible, so that it cannot be easily rendered inoperable bytampering or otherwise, and which is s'o disposed within the struc-4.ture of the iron that it may be readily rendered accessible forre-conditioning after it has operated'. Y

Fln'ther objects of this invention will be more clearly understood fromthe following description and from A.the accompanying drawing in Fig. 1is a side view, in centraLvertical section, illustrating a steaming ironembodying thepresent invention. f

Fig:l 2 is a bottom view ofthe cover of said iron showing our improvedsafety means.

Fl'g. 3 is a side view, in central vertical section,

portion of said safety'means on an enlarged scale. s 4 is a bottom viewin elevation of the clamping nutmustratedinr'ig-a.

showing a Fig. 5 is an elevational plan view of a diaphragm which isused in the embodiment illustrated.

As shown in the drawing, a steaming iron em'- bodying our invention maycomprise a sole plate 5 on which is mounted a Water containerl'j withinwhich water may be placed through a ll opening 1, and which is heated bymeans of a heating element 8 that causes said water to be generated intosteam.

'Ihe said container also includes a steam chamber 9 that is separatedfrom the water chamber I0 by means of a partition II having openings I2therein for the passage of steam into said chamber 9 and thesaidopenings I2 are partly bailled by means of an overlying baille plateI3. A said baille plate is provided with raised portions. extendingalong the front and sides thereof, to provide passages under said bailleplate which communicate with the openings I2 and permit the steam topass into the chamber 9 along the sides and rear of the baille plate.

-The'steam chamber 9 is sealed by means of 1a cover I4 and the saidcover may be providedrwith ya steam passage I5.

In the operation of the steaming iron illustrated, the heating element 1will cause the sole plate 5 to become heated and, at the same time,

will heat the watenin the compartment III and l means of a valve havinga valve plug I6 which distributing chamber I9 in the sole plate of theiron wherefrom it may be openings 2B.

While said iron may be constructed so as to always provide an outlet forthe steam `either through the opening I1 or the jets 20, such as by allof the said passages and thereby present the danger of the container 6exploding by excessive pressure which can then be easily generated with-'pressurerelcasing means in the form of'a dia- The ejected through jetphragm 2i which is mounted within a recess 22, preferably on the undersurface of the said cover 'iii and exposed to the pressure within thesteam recess, as at 26. It will be noted that the recess 22 is formed soas to expose a substantial amount of the area of the diaphragm 2l to thesteam pressure within the steam chamber il, whichv pressure is appliedupon the under surfaces of the diaphragm through the opening El in thenut 25.

The said diaphragm therefore is positioned across the recess in thecover in such a manner that one side thereof will be exposed to thesteam pressure while the opposite side is exposed only to atmosphericpressure.

1n order to release steam from said recess 22, upon the said diaphragmbecoming ruptured by excessive steam pressure within the iron, weprovide a steam exhaust passage 25 in the cover iti, which extends fromthe said recess 22 to the atmosphere. As shown in the drawing, however,the said passage 2B is preferably made to direct the released steamintoa separate compartment 29, underneath a portion of the cover lli, fromwhich it will be released to the atmosphere through suitable openings insaid cover, or through clearancesbetween the said cover and the body ofthe iron. Further, the said passage is restricted to a capacity whichwill retard the passage of steam therethrough and, upon the rupturing ofthe diaphragm 2i, cause the steam to be released slowly so that it willpass out of the iron in the manner of a slow leak, rather than with asudden burst which would be apt to scald the hand of a person using theiron.

The ejection of the steam under cover,'in the Amanner just described, isof particular advantage since it eliminates the possibility ofv a jetof-hot steam striking a person in the vicinityof the iron,

' from the scope of our invention as tured by excessive pressure, it isimportant that the iron be thoroughly inspected, for any possiblestoppage of the steam passages,l before a new diaphragm is installed. Y

Therefore, it is considered of great importance. to locate our improvedpressure releasing means on the under surface of the cover It so that,in order to render said means accessible for replacement of'aruptureddiaphragm, it is necessary to rst remove the said cover from theiron and, by so doing, expose the interior of the iron for theexamination ofthe various passages which can then be readily cleaned outof any sediment.

From the above description vand drawing, it will be clearly understoodthat we have provided novel pressure releasing means vwhich areparticularly advantageous in a steaming iron of the character describedand whereby the'steam iron is rendered safe from dangerous explosions.AIt will also be understood that our invention further` provides asafety pressure release which cannot be tampered with nor renderedinoperable through lignorance or inexperience and further,

ywhich'will not expel steam under high pressure in any particulardirection and thereby eliminate the possibility of said steam strikingand possibly injuring a person in the vicinity of the iron.

While we have illustrated our improved pressure releasing means inconnection with a steaming iron of the particular construction shown,the said means may also be used in other types of suchirons, orsimilardevices, without departing set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A steaming and pressing iron o the character described comprising acontainer having a steam chamber with an opening at the top ofsaidchamber, a detachable cover having a relatively and renders it verydifficult for any person. lello rant of thedanger in so doing, to tamperwith or plug the steam passage 28 so as to prevent escape of steam afterthe diaphragm 2| has been ruptured, and thereby operate the iron withoutthe protection of the said diaphragm. Therefore, since escape of steamcannot be otherwise stopped, when a diaphragm has ruptured, the ironwill be rendered useless until the cover it has been removed and theruptured diaphragm replaced.

It is to be understood that the said diaphragm is adapted to rupture ata pressure which is far below the pressure required to burst thecontainer 5 and still withstand a sumciently high pressure -to insurethat it will not rupture under the pressure which is maintained duringthe normal use of the iron.

thick portion for sealing said opening, said portion having an invertedrecess intthe bottom thereof, a pressure releasing diaphragm extendedacross said recess, a restricted exhaust passage within said covercommunicating said recess with an external opening inthe edge of saidportion and a relativelythin portion on said cover shieldlng saidopening.

2. A steaming iron of the character described comprising a casing havinga steam chamber with an opening in the top of said chamber; a detachEable cover sealing said opening and forming with an exterior portion ofsaid casing a separate. compartment in said steam iron having communica-Due to the construction of the valve plug i6, in

the particular steam ron shown in the drawing, the steam chamber 9 isalways open to the atmosphere, either through the openings l1 Aor thejets 20, for the reason that the valve will not entirely close the saidchamber to one passage before opening it to the other.- Therefore, thereis no danger of the pressure within the steam chamber reaching adangerous point unlessl something Y I serious, such as the plugging ofthose steam pessages vby sediment, has taken place. For vthis reason.when the diaphragm becomes ruption with the atmosphere, pressurereleasing means including an inverted recess in the bottom of saidcover, a diaphragm extending across said recess and exposed to pressurewithin said chamber, and a restricted passage in said covercommunicating said recess with said separate compartment. 3. A steamingand pressing iron of the character described comprising a containerhaving a steam chamber therein and an opening, a getachable coversealing said opening and having an inverted recess in the bottomthereof, a frangible diaphragm extended acrgss said-recess, and arestricted exhaust passage within said cover ex- 4. A combinationsteaming and pressing `iron ofthe characterdescribed comprising" acasing having a. steam chamber therein and an' opening Y in the topthereof,v a detachable cover sealing said opening, a handle oi said ironcarriedby said cover, and means for releasing pressure in said chamberupon the same having attained a certain pre-determined degree; the saidmeans including an inverted recess in the bottom of said cover, adiaphragm extendingacross said recess I acter described comprising acasing having a steam chamber therein and opening into said chamber, acover having a. portion closing said opening and an extension overlyingsaid casing, the said portion having an inverted recess in the bottomthereof, a diaphragm extending across said recess and exposed topressure in said chamber, and a restricted passage in said portionextending from said recess to an opening between said extension andcasing.

6. A steaming Airon of the character described comprising a casinghaving a steam chamber therein and an opening into said chamber, a covermember including a portion for closing said opening and an extensionfrom said portion overlying said casing, a boss integral with anddepending from said portion into said opening and having an invertedrecess therein, a diaphragm extending across said recess, means threadedto said boss forv detachably securing said diaphragm in said recess, anda restricted lateral passage in said cover member extending from a pointbetween the diaphragm and the top of said recess to an exterior openingin' the side of said closing portion of the cover member exteriorly ofsaid chamber and between said extension and casing.

7. In a steaming iron of the character described comprising a casinghaving a steam chamber therein and an opening from the top of saidcasing .into said steam chamber, a cover having a portion tting oversaid opening for closing the same and an extension on said portionproviding with an exterior portion of said casing a. separate chamber insaid iron having commuf nication with the atmosphere, pressure releasingmeans including a diaphragm secured within a recess in the bottom ofsaid portion and exposed to pressure Within said chamber, and arestricted passage in said portion communicating said recess with saidseparate chamber.

8. A steaming and pressing iron of the character described comprising acontainer having a steam chamber with an opening at the top of saidchamber, a detachable cover, said cover having a relatively thickportion for sealing said opening and a relatively thin portion extendingfrom the thick portion over an exterior portion of. said container, arecess in the bottoni of said thick portion, a frangible diaphragmclosing said recess, and a restricted exhaust passage within said covercommunicating said recess with an external opening in the side edge ofsaid thick portion and under said thin portion.

FRANK E. WOLCO'I'I'. LOUIS V. LUCIA.

